Police: Man jailed after threatening Loves Park cop, family

Tuesday

Jan 14, 2014 at 12:02 PMJan 14, 2014 at 3:05 PM

By Jeff KolkeyRockford Register Star

LOVES PARK - A registered sex offender with a criminal history is in jail after police say he repeatedly threatened to hunt down a female Loves Park Police Department officer and her family and "slit their throats."

Shane A. Monroe, 34, of Rockford, was arrested at 2:24 a.m. Sunday after a Loves Park officer performed a traffic stop in the area of East Riverside Boulevard and North 2nd Street. Monroe was armed with a Hi-Point 9-mm semi-automatic handgun and in possession of ammunition that included "explosive bullets" when he was stopped for speeding and DUI, according to allegations in court documents.

Loves Park Deputy Chief Rodney Scott said the suspect threatened to kill the officer and her family and made other threatening comments about the officer and her family throughout the arrest and booking process.

"This is just a reminder about what dangers our officers face when they get on the street during the day," Scott said.

The officer spotted an oncoming Jeep Cherokee traveling at 55 mph in a 30 mph zone in the 1000 block of Riverside Boulevard, police said. The officer turned her squad around and caught up to the Jeep stopped at a red light. She said in court documents that part of the vehicle was in a turn lane with the rear sticking into a westbound lane.

When the Jeep turned, it drove over a median while navigating onto North Second Street. Eventually, the vehicle was stopped on a side street, court documents say.

Although the man told the police officer he was not armed and had been at a bowling alley, she found a handgun in a shoulder holster beneath his winter coat during a pat-down.

Police said the suspect refused to identify himself. Using the vehicle's license plate and various law enforcement databases, the man was identified, court documents said. He later was tested with a blood alcohol content of .103, exceeding the legal limit of .08, the documents said.

Monroe is being held inside the Winnebago County Jail. No bond amount or lawyer was listed in electronic court files today.

Monroe was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and threatening a public official, both Class 3 felonies punishable by two to 10 years in prison. He was also charged with misdemeanor unlawful possession of "explosive" ammunition, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, driving an uninsured vehicle, obstructing identification, DUI and DUI with a blood alcohol content of more than .08.

Further charges could be filed in the case.

Monroe was required to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to a 2002 charge of attempted aggravated criminal sex abuse and was sentenced to 30 months probation. He was sentenced to two years in prison in July 2005 after being found guilty of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Several previous weapons arrests did not result in convictions.